Malinda Williams is a well-known actress. The Elizabeth, NJ native has been gracing our screens for years, starring in such films as A Thin Line Between Love and Hate, High school High, and The Wood. She has also been married twice and recently found love again following two divorces. Who is the special man in her life these days?
Malinda made her television debut on The Cosby Show in 1987. From there, she guest starred in several series, including Moesha, Sister, Sister, Miami Vice, NYPD Blue, and Roc. While many people fell in love with her for the first time on The Wood, she would become a staple in black cinema thanks to her time on the television version of Soul Food as Bird. The show would end in 2004.
In her personal life, Malinda had fallen in love with fellow Soul Food star Mekhi Phifer. While they didn’t actually star in the property together (he was in the film while she was in the series), they fell in love and spent four years together. Their union yielded one child, Omikaye. They divorced in 2003, and Phifer has been very open about how things went bad. According to him, the pair were very young, and their careers took off so quickly during their marriage. “Being in that kind of relationship and that jump in my career at that age, it was tough,” he recalled. He remembers things got so bad that they moved into separate parts of the house to get away from each other.
Malinda would find love again in 2008 with DJ D-Nice. The pair were married for two years before calling it quits but had separated shortly after their one-year anniversary. D-Nice released a statement saying, “I ask that our privacy be honored during this extremely personal time. I thank my family and fans for their endless support.”
While D-Nice found new fame in the pandemic thanks to his Quarantine dance parties, Malinda was getting a third shot at love. She was on the cover of Black Bride magazine in January of 2020, celebrating her nuptials to a man named Tarik Walker. Walker is a journalist and digital media executive. They open up about being introduced by a mutual friend who believed they could do business together.
When asked why she said yes, Malinda said she felt she’d found her person. “Knowing that I had truly met my reflection in Tariq and knowing that I wanted to care for this man and have him care for me no matter what the future might hold,” she told the publication. The pair are not shy about their love and frequently post on social media, recently celebrating an anniversary. “MY mood FOREVER… Happy Anniversary TwinFlame! @malinsworld #love #blacklove #anniversary,” Tarik said in a post.
Malinda celebrates her man often as well, recently sharing images from them at the NAACP Awards. She also celebrated his Birthday by saying, “there’s not a single day that goes by that I don’t give thanks and celebrate your presence on this Earth and in my life. Happy Birthday ❤️🔥❤️🔥.”
